Kinder Scout

As a walker of the wilds of Dartmoor, I am deeply indebted to the actions of Benny Rothman of the Lancashire branch of the socialist British Workers Sports Federation and around 500 others who turned up on Kinder Scout (then owned by the Duke of Devonshire and used to hold grouse) for the famous Mass Trespass on 24 April 1932.

Five unfortunates were jailed for between 2 and 6 months for their actions. Anger galvanised ramblers into further protests that would eventually change the law and lead to the creation of the Peak District National Park in 1951. (The Dartmoor National Park was also established in the same year.)

Present on that day was Ewan MacColl and it lead him to compose The Manchester Rambler whose chorus goes:
I'm a rambler, I'm a rambler from Manchester way,
I get all me pleasure the hard moorland way,
I may be a wage slave on Monday,
But I am a free man on Sunday.
I remember fondly singing tramping across Dartmoor on scouting expeditions in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Indeed it was one of the first folk songs I re-discovered (along with The Spinners singing MacColl's "Dirty Old Town" on late night - approx 10.30 - TV!) after being putting off all things "folk" by "country dancing" at primary school.

It was around the time of the Mass Trespass that MI5 began keeping a watch on Ewan's activities. According to files released to the National Archives, MI5 began inquiring closely into his activities, gathering reports of his stage shows and asking police in Manchester to regularly report back.

One report returned to the spymasters in London remarked that while MacColl had "exceptional ability as a singer and musical organiser", he was very clearly "a communist with very extreme views" who needed "special attention".

Anyway, all this is deviation away from the main thrust of the blog. Today's "Observer" carries the article "Ramblers ruin right-to-roam's landmark site".

The article suggests that it is ironic that the iconic birthplace of the rambling revolution in the battle for the 'right to roam' is falling victim to the ramblers themselves. There is such horrific erosion on Kinder Scout that conservationists are now fighting a desperate battle to save the paths on the peak.

The National Trust, which now owns the land, is launching an nationwide appeal to raise £1M to stop Kinder from simpling crumbling away. The government's environment advisory body, Natural England, has pledged £500,000 and the balance must be found by the Trust.

To halt the erosion, the area will be:

• resprayed with lime and fertiliser to reduce the acidity and give heather a chance to grow
• artificial water channels built by sheep farmers will be blocked up to prevent water washing away further peat
• cotton grass will be plug-planted to root the peat and keep it in place
• heather and grass seed will be sprayed over the area from a helicopter